ABV confusion

[Ryan Lloyd]

Hey yall, I messed up in my process and am confused now as to what to do. I forgot to get a reading on the hydrometer before I put the wort into the fermentor. Now I dont know how to measure the ABV. Any tips?

 

[RM-MN]

If you used an extract kit, they usually show what the expected OG will be.
If you used extract but not a kit, the OG can be calculated as the amount of sugars in extract is well documented.
If you were brewing all grain, you can estimate but the actual OG will vary depending on the efficiency you experience in extracting the sugars from the grain.

 

[Ryan Lloyd]

If you used an extract kit, they usually show what the expected OG will be.
If you used extract but not a kit, the OG can be calculated as the amount of sugars in extract is well documented.
If you were brewing all grain, you can estimate but the actual OG will vary depending on the efficiency you experience in extracting the sugars from the grain.

It was all grain. How would I estimate it?

 

[mac_1103]

How long has it been? Can you get a gravity sample without opening your fermenter?

 

[mac_1103]

It was all grain. How would I estimate it?

Plug your recipe into a calculator like this one. As mentioned, the result depends on your efficiency.

 

[GoodTruble]

If using an online calculator, most default to 75% efficiency, which is middle-of-the-road enough that it will probably get you close (but obviously won't be exact).

 

[bellhp]

OR ... you could RDWHAHB . I broke my hydrometer back in March and haven't replaced it yet .

 

[GoodTruble]

Yeah, there is something to be said for the simplicity of just using the estimated calculator numbers and leaving beer in the fermenter an extra 1-2 weeks rather than taking multiple readings/measurements.

 

[jsphlynch]

If you measure the fully fermented beer with both a refractometer and a hydrometer, you can in theory back-calculate the OG.
https://www.brewheads.com/refract-getog.php
Or get a rough estimate from the recipe and RDWHAHB.

 

[hotbeer]

Is important that you know? If you are only a home brewer, then drink it up and remember to get those readings on the next batch.

 

[SFC Rudy]

Don’t sweat it. Make a checklist and follow it next time.

 

[CheapBrewer]

Hey yall, I messed up in my process and am confused now as to what to do. I forgot to get a reading on the hydrometer before I put the wort into the fermentor. Now I dont know how to measure the ABV. Any tips?

Hi,
I hope that this doesn't sound too dismissive. While I do enjoy the technical aspects of brewing, if you're not selling your beer, then if you miss measuring for a batch it's nothing to stress over.
Enjoy your homebrew when it's finished and make a note to check on the next batch!
My homebrewing friend goes so far as making a 'Batch Record' that are detailed instructions with blanks to fill in measurements.
For me, that's too much like work!
At the end of a brew day, after fussing over cleaning, mashing, sparging, boiling and cooling, who can blame you for missing a measurement that has no impact on the quality of what you're producing!
In the words of the warrior poet Papazian, 'Just relax and have a homebrew!'

Cheers!

 

[mac_1103]

missing a measurement that has no impact on the quality of what you're producing

It's certainly true that forgetting to take a measurement doesn't actually affect your beer, and not being able to calculate your ABV isn't exactly a huge deal. But that's not the same as saying that OG has no impact on the quality of what you're producing. If you're brewing a recipe that has a target OG of 1.060 and you get 1.040 instead, then it almost certainly means that you did something wrong and aren't going to get the result you were expecting. It'll still be beer and it might even be really good beer, but it's definitely going to be a different beer than you thought you were making.